Something Worth Telling
by Jake Nickleby
Summary: Shortly after his family relocates to California, Jamie Bennett gets assaulted on the night of his thirteenth birthday. With no friends or Guardians for support, Jamie believes he has to deal with the aftermath of his attack alone. That is, until he meets a quirky boy by the name of Dipper Pines, whose friendship may help Jamie heal from his silent suffering.


Disclaimer: All characters, events, and material related to _The Guardians of Childhood_ and _Rise of the Guardians_ are owned by William Joyce and DreamWorks Animation. All characters, events, and material related to _Gravity Falls_ are owned by Alex Hirsch and Disney Channel. The City and County of San Francisco is part of the San Francisco Bay Area region in Northern California. Piedmont, California is part of the Alameda County.

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Cover Art by Jake Nickleby. Currently looking for Cover Art or colored commissions.

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Chapter One: Something Worth Moving

Of all the extraordinary things Jamie Bennett could imagine happening to him, moving to California was not one of them. So when his mother explained to him and his younger sister, Sophie about a job opportunity at the San Francisco General Hospital, he didn't quite believe her at first. The reality didn't hit him until his mother decided to take the job, and suddenly found himself packing his belongings.

His mother had been taking courses at the university for quite a long while, hoping to earn a degree that would guarantee her a higher position in her profession. Finances in his household hadn't always been plentiful, which was why his mother had gone back to school in the first place. But with the trouble of budget cuts, there was a chance that she wouldn't be eligible for the degree after all.

With dozens of e-mails and letters of recommendations, Ms. Bennett pushed to receive the honor she had been working towards for nearly three years. After several, long and hard-working months, the university finally granted her the degree. The hospital she worked in offered her the transfer to the Golden State. After a week and a half of consideration, she made the difficult decision to uproot the family. She explained to her children that this opportunity was all around best for them, that they were starting a brand new experience. Once the job was secured, she bought a house about thirteen miles outside of San Francisco, in a small city named Piedmont.

When Jamie was told of the major transition, he didn't struggle against his mother's choice. He only dejectedly accepted the situation, no matter how much it tore at his heart. Sophie was a little sad at first, but she only just finished kindergarten. Six-year-olds were better at adapting to new communities and establishing new friendships than twelve-year-olds did, and that was a simple fact of life. Everyone knew that.

All of his big summer plans were ditched, replaced with fast food wrappers on the dashboard of his mother's car, and a thirty-seven hour drive from the small college town he's always called home. At least he was given the chance to spend six golden weeks of summer before he helped his family box all of their belongings up for good.

He said goodbye to everything in Burgess. Goodbye to snow days that would begin in late autumn, goodbye to the lake just down the hill from the back of his house, and he said goodbye to all his friends... Caleb, Claude, Monty, Pippa, and Cupcake.

He smiled ruefully at the thought of the last name. Out of all his friends, Cupcake surprisingly became one of his closest and loyal friends. Before that snowy afternoon in April over two years ago, where they had their first epic snowball fight unbeknowst with Jack Frost, Cupcake was only considered as their very large and terrifying classmate. Then after the fateful evening on Easter Sunday where Jamie and the rest of his friends met all of the Guardians of Childhood, they started letting her in all of their fun little games. Cupcake gradually started hanging out with the rest of them, with or without an invitation, because they finally knew that the six of them belonged with each other.

Their group was an eclectic bunch, and Cupcake brought a unique flavor to the circle. She was strong, standing up to those who picked on the rest of them. She was imaginative, envisioning really interesting dreams that she shared with them, Jamie in particular. But above all, she was a great listener when one of them needed someone to lend an ear.

As the six of the youngsters entered middle school, Jamie found himself in that position of needing her support more often than anyone would have ever guessed (himself included). He learned that even Cupcake was sometimes vulernable underneath that tough exterior, and would need the roles to be switched for a day or few. Their relationship with each other grew from there, and the two of them have been best buddies ever since.

Seeing as how he was starting out fresh with a new set of potential friends, Jamie was going to miss that the most about the older girl. Would he be able to find someone in the new town who would hear him as well as Cupcake could? He hoped so, but he would still miss his buddies from Burgess terribly.

"Drop me a line once you settle in?" Jamie remembered her asking him as they stood on the sidewalk in front of his red-painted house. All of his other friends had said goodbye to him earlier that day. He glanced over his shoulder to see his mother overseeing the last few stacks of boxes being loaded into the moving truck. His eyes traveled over to the sale sign staked firmly on the lawn, then finally he looked over to see her brown irises.

"Yeah..." Jamie gave his eventual answer, smiling softly at her. "Yeah, I promise."

Cupcake leaned forward and pulled him into a tight hug. Jamie was taken back by the spontaneous show of affection, but after the shock faded, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and returned the embrace with just as much strength. He rocked on the balls of his feet to match her size. When he stood upright with his feet flat on the ground, his eyes would almost be leveled with hers. He was now rivaling her in height, but if he didn't hit another growth spurt soon, she'd forever be towering over him.

"I'll tell Jack where to find you," Cupcake whispered in his ear, a hint of sadness in her voice.

A pang of guilt twisted a knot in his stomach. He lied to himself when he said he'd say goodbye to everything in Burgess. He never got to say goodbye to Jack Frost. It bothered him that he couldn't tell the winter spirit that he was leaving. How would he react when the first snowfall of the year came down on Burgess, only to find that his first believer was gone?

The twelve-year-old was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the voice of his younger sister call him. "Jamie!" Sophie hollered through the open window of the car door. "Let's go!"

"So..." he started slowly, unsure how to finish his farewell. "This is it. I'm leaving..."

"This isn't goodbye, you know," Cupcake remarked. The sadness was still layered in her tone, but confidence and determination coated the emotion. Her shining eyes matched the quality of her voice. Jamie knew then that he would always have his place in Burgess- with the friends he would be leaving behind.

"I know," he sighed. "But..."

"It still sucks," she finished for him.

He gave a light chuckle at that, cocking his head to the side. "Yeah..."

Once his head was straightened, he stared into her eyes. She stared back. There was a pause of silence while Cupcake pressed her lips together and her eyes became watery. Not one for showing strong emotion publicly (she only ever opened herself up to Jamie, and even then, he had only seen her cry once), she blinked back any trace of her unshed tears. "See you, Jamie..."

Cupcake turned around and began slowly walking down the sidewalk, away from his house. Jamie didn't immediately look away from her. The pink, sequined skirt she wore fluttered in the summer breeze. It was funny to Jamie that, while she opted a more mature look from her grade school days, her apparel hadn't strayed too far from the pink tutus and graphic tee shirts she used to wear. Now that he thought about it, his appearance didn't differ too much from his younger days. It was still khaki shorts in the summer, and puffer vests in the winter.

"Jamie, honey!" his mother called, snapping his thoughts back to his undesired reality. "We'll need to leave now if we want to meet the movers there on time."

Steadily, Jamie treaded to where his family was waiting for him. Without looking behind him, he opened the passenger door and carefully climbed inside. The car was put in reverse, and started to roll out of the driveway. He saw Cupcake standing on the curb, watching the vehicle drive down the street. Anemic waves were exchanged between the pair of friends, until they were too far apart to see either of the parting gesture.

"It's a bi-i-i-g drive ahead of us," his mother explained, sounding optimistic. "The movers are expected to arrive on Friday."

"But we're going to get there by Thursday night," Jamie pointed out. "What are we gonna sleep on?"

"I've packed some sleeping bags in the back," she answered. "And some extra blankets and pillows, if we need any."

"Sleepover!" Sophie cheered from the back of the car, bouncing in her booster seat. Jamie sighed. It was obviously going to be a long week. Suddenly, as the pre-teen slumped slightly in his seat, something pinkish and once-fuzzy flopped on his left shoulder. "I double-checked to make sure I packed my lamby and Jamie's bun-bun," the young girl announced.

"It's okay, Soph," he told her, gently pushing his old toy off of his shoulder. "You hang on to it for me."

"Oh, that was nice of you, Jamie," his mother praised. "You used to _love_ your bun-bun!" The adolescent boy slumped in his seat a bit more and looked out the side window, a bun-bun pink of embarrassment creeped on his cheeks. There was a small part of him that was still attached to it, remembering where he had gotten the stuffed rabbit... but... he was turning thirteen in less than a month. He didn't need it anymore. Sophie did, so he entrusted his life-long companion to her.

Every stop was made after a good three hours on the road, and finally they stopped at their first motel after a twelve-hour drive. The next day was the same as it was the day before, but with slightly different scenery. A pit stop after every three hours, and another motel after a total of twelve hours driving. Their third day driving lasted a total of thirteen hours, which put the biggest strain on their aching muscles out of all of their days traveling. That unfortunately did not serve them well when they had slept on air mattresses during their first night in the new house.

Traveling with Abby, the family's greyhound, was a challenge. She whined in her wire crate while they were on their drive, so the canine was overjoyed whenever she was let out for a quick walk or a hasty game of catch. Sneaking her into motels where there were "no pets allowed" was the most strenuous task of traveling with their domestic companion.

By the time the familly arrived in what was supposedly their new hometown on Thursday evening, Jamie felt delirious. His mother tried waking him out of his haze so he could help a slumbering Sophie out of her booster seat, while she went to unlock the front door of their home and unload their sleeping gear from the car trunk. Once he gotten both Sophie and Abby into the previously vacant house, Jamie hit his head against the pillow his mother laid out on the floor and fell right asleep.

The moving truck arrived Friday morning, as expected, and the crew began hauling the larger furniture in first. His mother directed the movers where to lay out their belongings, while Jamie set Sophie up with a coloring book and some other art supplies to occupy her attention. Getting his sister out of the way and keeping her happy were a combination of two challenging tasks, but not an impossible priority for him. So far it was working, and he hoped to keep it that way until the movers brought in all the furniture.

Sophie finished her coloring book with the crossword puzzle on the back page when Abby nudged a tennis ball, causing it to roll to the six-year-old's feet. Giggling, she picked up the ball and raced towards the backyard. Jamie was about to follow her out, but he was stopped by the call of his mother's voice.

"Jamie, will you come here for a moment?" Without a word, he followed her, until they were both standing in an uninhabited room. He quickly glanced around the room, wondering why his mother wanted to see this.

"What do you think, Jamie?" she said cheerfully. "Your new room!" Jamie stayed silent, not sure what to say. He hoped his mother didn't think he was being ungrateful. She gave him a half hug, and said as she was leaving the room, "You can set up your room however you'd like."

Jamie took a week to construct the layout of his room, making it situated like his old room as much as he possibly could. His window was on the west side of the house, just like the one in Burgess. The entrance was directly across the window, also like his childhood room. Naturally, Jamie had the headboard to his bed frame pressed up against the wall in between the window and door. Positioning his desk to the right of the window completed the illusion of a familiar space.

His bookshelves leaned against the wall opposite of his bed, but remained empty at its current stage. His mattress finally arrived in the vacant bed frame, but no bedding still did not cover the surface. All was left were the shelves that needed to be mounted to the walls, and filling the empty spots with his personal belongings.

Two weeks in, Jamie finished arranging all of his belongings in its proper space. But even with everything- the books, photo frames, and old toys now used as decorations- finally in its place, the emptiness was still lingering in there. Something was missing, and it left Jamie feeling isolated and lonely.

Another week, and the Bennett family began experiencing complications with their new home when appliances started to break down. With a piece of paper and little else to do with his extra time, Jamie began drafting a letter about all the things that went wrong:

_Thursday, August 21st 2014_

_Dear Cupcake,_

_ Three weeks since the move to California, and nothing has been tamed around the new house. We still don't have our internet connection up yet, so that's why you're getting an old-fashioned letter. It's actually kind of more fun than e-mail in a way, don't you think? Anyway, you should probably use the return address on the envelope until I can get computer access._

_ Most of our stuff is still packed in boxes, so we've been eating pizza nearly every single night. We probably won't be doing that very much once we finish the kitchen. Then earlier this week, our plumbing stopped working. If any of us need to use the bathroom, we have to go to the convenience store just down the street. It's kind of a hassle, really. _

_ I don't really have a lot of time to write much more, but since tomorrow's my birthday and school starts on Monday, I wanted to make sure to tell you that, despite all of the above, everything is going great so far. I miss you..._

Jamie held the letter back and took a long, hard look at it. Then he grabbed his pink pearl eraser and furiously scrubbed the last sentence away. In its place, he wrote, _Say 'hi' to the guys for me!_

"Jamie!" a young voice howled from the doorway to his bedroom. He whipped his head around to see his sister dancing awkwardly at the threshold.

The preteen hurriedly stood up. "What is it, Soph?"

"I need to go to the bathroom!" she whined with her hands squeezed in between her legs. "Mommy's busy with the pipe guy and says you need to take me, _ple-e-e-ease!_" Bright green eyes were wide with desperation as the six-year-old howled to her older brother.

"Okay, okay!" Jamie coaxed her, putting his hands out to signal her to calm down. "Go put your shoes on, and we'll leave."

Sophie nodded, and her tiny feet scampered down the hall. Jamie turned his head down to the letter on his desk. Snatching his pencil, he quickly signed a conclusion to his message: _Your pal, Jamie_

Sophie came prancing back with her black patent flats strapped to her feet. "Hurry!" she cried before sprinting to the front door. Jamie quickly grabbed the envelope he prepped earlier with a stamp and Cupcake's address, and stuffed the letter inside.

"Jamie!" Sophie's plea echoed through the nearly vacant residence.

"Hang on, Sophie!" he called out, multi-tasking with sealing the envelope and jogging to the house entrance. The sound of their family dog's claws pattered against the hardwood floors as she raced from one far room and to the door.

"No, Abby, stay put!" he instructed the greyhound. Stretching his arms out, he signaled his pet with open palms to accompany his verbal orders. "Stay... Good girl!" She whined, but obeyed, bowing to the floor and hiding her face with her paws. Then Jamie made his getaway. The moment he reached his destination, the young blonde took a hold on her brother's hand, and frantically pulled him outside.

Freeing one hand from the little girl's death grip, Jamie tucked the piece of mail safely into the back pocket of his jeans. Sophie fidgeted the whole way down the street. The pair of siblings sprinted as they neared their destination, over the sidewalk and across the parking lot. The backside of the convenience store was where the bathroom was located. Jamie jiggled the door handle, only to find the bathroom door locked. So, it's one of _those_ places... Sighing heavily, he knew that he would need to go inside the store and ask for the key.

_ "Ja-a-ami-e-e-e!" _

"Hold on, Sophie, this will only take a second!" he assured, grasping her hand and pulling her into the store along with him. Once inside, the elder sibling quickly inspected the store. His eyes scanned the place until his gaze landed on a man sitting behind the cash register. The clerk, who looked to be in his early to mid-thirties, was chatting with another man around his age.

"Excuse me?" Jamie asked hesitantly, unsure if the clerk was paying any attention to him. "Could we get the key for the bathroom?"

Finally, the clerk turned his head and stared down at the pair of young children with a critical eye. He let out an annoyed sigh, rolling his eyes away from them. "Bathroom's for paying customers only," the clerk grumbled.

"Jamie, I'm gonna pee my pants!" Sophie whined as quietly as she could, feet pattering as quickly as hummingbird could flap its wings.

"Shh!"

Jamie opened his mouth to argue with the clerk, but let out an exasperated sigh instead. He glanced over the display racks on the counter until he spotted a colorful assortment of gum. Picking up a yellow-colored pack, he slapped it down on the counter.

"But Jamie, I want some ice cream!" Sophie whined as he dug around his pocket for some change.

"Do you need ice cream, or do you need to go to the bathroom?" Jamie challenged, but his younger sister continued her fuss.

"But I want ice cream..." she pouted, giving her brother the best puppy-dog eyes she had ever made in all of her six years of living.

"Which one- ice cream or bathroom?" he persisted firmly. Sophie thought about it critically, but the longer she took to think about it, the more she squirmed. Her bouncing increased in speed and her grip between her legs tightened.

"Bathroom!" she cried, jumping up and running towards the store's entrance.

Jamie grabbed the pack of gum with one hand and shoved it in his pocket. With his other hand, he took the keys- attached to a silver serving spoon- from the clerk. He muttered a "thanks", but honestly didn't completely mean it. Then he rushed after his sister, who was already waiting for him at the bathroom door.

"Jamie, get the lock!" Sophie shrieked impatiently. Jamie stuck in the key. He could tell she couldn't last much longer.

"I'm trying!" he complained, struggling with the key in the mechanism. The lock clicked, and Jamie opened the door for his sister. "I'll be right here if you need me," he promised to Sophie, gesturing to a general spot near the outside of the bathroom.

"Thank you, Jamie!" the six-year-old cried for joy, hurrying into the single-person bathroom.

As he waited, leaning against the wall, Jamie surveyed the area. He saw a blue mailbox on the street corner. Clicking his tongue in thought, the soon-to-be teenager quickly debated whether or not he'd be able to mail his letter and return by the time his sister was finished. Without a second thought, Jamie rushed over to the drop-off box. The letter was swiftly pulled out of his back pocket as he made his way to the street corner. Once his hand met the slot lever, he pulled it open, and dropped the letter inside. Running across the parking lot, Jamie mentally crossed his fingers, hoping his message would arrive in Burgess on time.

Jamie got back to his original spot as he heard water running from the tap, following by the sound of the paper towels dispensing out of its container. The door handle twisted rapidly as Sophie tried to push it open, the metal barrier much too heavy for the little girl to unlatch on her own. "I can't get out!" she cried.

With ease, Jamie pulled the door open. "Feeling better?"

"Mm-hmm!" Sophie answered happily, following her brother back to the store entrance. "Can I have ice cream _now_, Jamie?"

"That's up to Mom," he told her, holding the door open for her.

"Well, can you buy it now and put it in the freezer until she says yes?" she reasoned, greedily eyeing all of the frozen treats inside the freezer.

"No," he said flatly, tossing the key back onto the counter. He didn't bother to look at the clerk, who made an obvious sound of discontentment.

"_Please_, Jamie!" Sophie begged, bouncing rapidly as she grasped his hand tightly. Blonde hair sprung everywhere with every bob, and her huge, green eyes got bigger. "Please, please, please?"

"Here," he said, digging into his pocket. He pulled out the yellow, rectangular package. "Have a stick of this gum."

Fortunately for the older sibling, that was enough to content her. "Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Jamie!"

Jamie laughed and shook his head, continuing to lead the way home. The simple things that pleased a child... Besides, he had little use for his recent purchase. He was lucky it served _some_ purpose.

Once they arrived back at home, their mother was still consulting with the plumber, but by the look of the man packing his tools away, Jamie concluded that he was done and ready to leave soon. "I can make a special call for this weekend, get someone to come take a look at it," announced the plumber, or Sophie's dubbed "pipe guy", to their mother.

"Thank you, I really appreciate your help," Ms. Bennett expressed her gratitude to the man, extending her arm out for a handshake.

"Take care, miss," the plumber said, tipping the bill of his hat up as a salute.

"Hah!" she exclaimed, amazed by the title she was graced with. "Did you hear that? He called me 'miss'!"

"That's great, Mom," her son responded. He tried to sound amused, but his tone came out flat anyway.

"Think what you want, but I'm still too young to be called 'ma'am'," his mother said proudly.

Jamie put on an entertaining smile for her, and silently left for his room. He spent the remainder of the afternoon fixing his printer onto his desk. After the machine spat out what was suppose to be an acceptable test page (it showed that it was currently out of ink), he pulled his laptop out of its protective sleeve and set it carefully on top of the work surface. The computer powered on, and started to run smoothly. Still no internet connection, of course.

By the time he finished, the sun had set an hour ago. He noticed the extra material used for stationary on the side of the desk. Stamp, send address, letter... He wrote the return address on Cupcake's envelope... Didn't he? Jamie mentally groaned. After all that work, he forgot to write down his new address on the envelope.

Jamie stared at the addtional paper for a long moment before making his mind about something. He grabbed a plain index card and scribbled out a simple message. Stuffing the card into a blank envelope, he sealed the document.

"Mom!" he called urgently, readying himsef to bolt out the door. "I need to mail another letter really quick! I'll be back soon!" Unfortunately, and unexpectedly, his mother's words stopped him from carrying out his actions.

"Jamie, you know the rules," his mother reprimanded. "Never go out alone at night."

He sighed, knowing what she was referring to. She somehow found out about him and Sophie sneaking out with his friends to have a snowball fight on that particular Easter evening, and ever since then, she forbid the Bennett children to take a single step outside while alone after nightfall.

"I promise, I didn't mean to scare you like that. But that was over two years ago. I'm turning thirteen tomorrow... Can't you trust me a little?" He knew he was on the borderline of whining, but he was serious about gaining his mother's trust.

"I'd feel much better if you tell me where you're going before leaving," she expressed with much insistence.

Another defeated sigh. "Okay, okay! I promise." He defeatedly collapsed on the couch in the living room.

"I don't do this to punish you," she said earnestly. "I do it to keep you safe." She kissed him on the top of his head, and he gave a half-hearted smile at that. "I promise, tomorrow we will do whatever you want to do," she guaranteed, before she left for the kitchen. "It's not everyday you turn thirteen, now is it?"

Jamie mumbled a sound of amusement, unmoving from his spot on the couch. The small smile still graced his lips. No, it wasn't.

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End of Chapter One

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Author's Note: I'd also like to apologize to any Piedmont residents for the fictional layout, since I know the nearest 7-Eleven is in Oakland... nor is there a deli/donut shop (mentioned in chapter five). I'm also sorry for any fabrication on the community or school system (chapter four) that may appear in this story, and for the fictitious science teacher (even if I knew the teachers at the school, I probably wouldn't be able to use their names or likeness anyway).

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24 June 2013


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